Overview

By Coin and Shot is set during the renaissance period, with players taking control of a brand new merchant caravanner, intending to make a name for themselves around the world. Starting from just one mule and a few bags of wheat, players build their own 'East India Company' from the ground up.

Core Mechanics

By Coin and Shot is a third person game, with a deep set of strategy options also available. Players take direct control of their character, and are able to guide them across the vast ingame map between destinations. Able to assemble a large party, the caravan that the player guides can be made up of up to 10 members initially. These members can come from any place that the player encounters them, and they are also able to hire individuals in bazaars or other places of commerce. As players grow and expand their companies, more destinations, goods, and tools become available. The objective for the player is to construct the biggest company possible, as the player looks to establish themselves as a global force.

The Market

The Market demands and flow within By Coin and Shot are dynamically generated. Each region within the game has specific demands and exports that rise and fall over time due to the seasonal and weather cycles. As the majority of exports and resources are organic (i.e. food) players have to predict, expect, and analyse what is coming. Real-World events that occurred in the regions that the player controls also change the landscape of the market. Players will be financially rewarded if they successfully manipulate this market, enabling greater returns. Some missions may also be assigned to players by other officials, and these missions may also affect the market themselves. For example, if a player helps a particular military group in supplying them with weaponry, market availability of weapons will decrease, driving the price up due to the increased demand for weapons. This will also affect other missions as the game progresses.

Players move around a world map in a system similar to the RPG/Management game Mount and Blade.